The Malay Mail : Keith Lim cracks Sukma 50m freestyle record twice

IPOH, Sept 21 — National swimmer, Keith Lim of Federal Territories was in top form today at the Tuanku Zara Aquatic Centre pool when he rewrote the Malaysia Games (Sukma) 50 metre freestyle record twice.

In the heats, this morning, Keith clocked the fastest time of 23.44 seconds to erase the 10-year-old record of 23.45s set by Selangor’s Foo Jian Beng in the 2008 edition in Terengganu.

In the final, Keith shattered his own record with a time of 23.19s and won the gold medal in style.

“This is my last Sukma appearance... I was hoping to break the national record I created but it did not materialise,” he told Bernama after the race.

The silver medal went to Penang swimmer Lim Yin Chuen who clocked 23.80s while the bronze was won by Selangor’s Lim Zi Win in 24.06s.

The national record of 23.10s was set by Keith in June at the Mare Nostrum Monte Carlo, Monaco to rewrite the record of 23.17s set by Alwyn Tan in 2015.

In all, Keith collected four gold medals in this Sukma including the 100m freestyle, 4x100m medley relay and 4x200m medley relay.

After this, Keith who is a finance and investment student at University College Sedaya International (UCSI) will be participating in the Asean University Games in Myanmar in December. — Bernama

The Star : Keith eyeing national records in his final Sukma

IT’S time to rock the pool with swimmer Keith Lim aiming for a smashing time in his final Sukma appearance at Tuanku Zara Aquatic Centre in Ipoh next week.

The 20-year-old will be swimming for Federal Territories and is aiming to sprint away to a new national record in the 50m freestyle or the longer 100m freestyle race.

Keith clocked 23.10s in the 50m freestyle at the Mare Nostrum series in Monaco in June to erase the previous national record of 23.17s set by Alwyn Tan back in 2015.

His personal best is already well inside the Sukma Games record of 23.45s held by Foo Jian Beng of Selangor since 2008.

The national record for the 100m freestyle is 50.16s held by Daniel Bego since 2009.

“I have gone faster than both Games records for the 50m and 100m freestyle, so I will try to repeat it in Ipoh.

“Hopefully, I can dip under the 23 seconds mark.

“It’s my third and also last Sukma outing, so I just hope to swim as fast as I can to defend the two sprint titles,” said Keith, who is based at Bukit Jalil.

He is a first year student at UCSI University in finance and investment but studies will not take a backseat for the moment.

“There is the Asean University Games in Myanmar in December, so I will continue to train in Bukit Jalil after Sukma,” added Keith, who will also swim the 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle and 4x100m medley relays for FT.

A total of 38 gold medals are up for grabs in the swimming competition, which takes place from Sept 17-21.


Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/swimming/2018/09/15/keith-eyeing-national-records-in-his-final-sukma/#rM3e1ZyQFbc1sYHE.99

The Star : Double mission for swimmers

FEDERAL Territories aquatics team have a duty to put up a big splash at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Perak.

The team harbour hopes that their sterling performance in Sukma will help convince the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to provide funding to refurbish the Bandar Tun Razak Swimming Complex in the city.

The swimming complex is an outdoor pool maintained by DBKL. It was also the venue where Nurul Huda Abdullah splashed to win eight gold medals when Malaysia hosted the SEA Games in 1989, a feat that has never been repeated since.

It has since became the training ground for the FT swimmers and divers but it is badly in need of a roof and a new scoreboard.

“The scoreboard has broken down for some time and we are unable to host any national level meets because of this,” said Nancy. “The existing scoreboard has to be changed as it is too old.

“It’s also been our hope for many years that we have a roof over the pool.

“We either conduct training in the morning or late in the evening because of the hot weather. A simple roof will do.

“Swimming is a good all-round sport and we want to entice more kids to take up the sport with better facilities.

“If we get good results in Sukma, it will help our cause,” she added.

FT, spearheaded by talented youngsters Sebastian Soon (pic), Steve Khiew and Keith Lim, should better the previous haul of five golds from the previous Sukma outing in Kuching, Sarawak two years ago.

“Sebastian and Keith are national swimmers holding national records in the 400m individual medley and 50m freestyle respectively.

“We hope the three of them will finish on top this time. Together with diving, we are hopeful of getting nine or 10 golds from aquatics although we do not have the services of Wong Jun Bin.

“Jun Bin, who took part in the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games last year, could not swim for us as he had to start his studies in the United States this month.

“He would have been a good bet to win in the longer distance freestyle races.”

The FT swimmers have engaged the services of Chinese coach Zhang Hongbao to prepare for the Perak Sukma.

Swimming takes place in Ipoh from Sept 17-21.


Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/swimming/2018/09/13/double-mission-for-swimmers-ft-team-hope-good-results-in-sukma-will-convince-dbkl-to-refurbish-swimm/#bwuRg1H4QMlvtPF8.99

The Star : Keith on track to break record in his pet event

KUALA LUMPUR: Keith Lim put himself in the right frame of mind to set his first national swimming record by winning the men’s 100m freestyle race in the Malaysian Open swimming championships.

The 20-year old Kuala Lumpur lad showed he is on the right track by splashing to the gold medal at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday clocking 51.01 seconds.

Hong Kong’s Jeremy Wong posted 51.24 for silver while national swimmer Chan Jie took bronze for Selangor in 51.48.

“This is not a tapered meet but I am happy with my time today. Actually, I am aiming to break the national record in the 50m freestyle on Sunday (tomorrow).

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“I hope I can set my first national record. It will be a good boost for me as I am preparing for the August Asian Games in Indonesia,” said Keith, whose personal best of 23.33 seconds is not far from the national record time of 23.17 held by Penang’s Alwyn Tan since 2015.

Fellow international Tern Jian Han also did well to claim his second gold in the meet yesterday.

Jian Han, swimming for Johor, came out tops in the men’s 100m backstroke final in 57.05 seconds.

India’s Arvid Mani took silver with 57.98 ahead of compatriot Arijus Pavlidi, who clocked 58.08 for the bronze medal.

Jian Han won the 50m backstroke event on Thursday.

Selangor also rejoiced with two golds in the bag from Ng Yi Hao and Jordan Yip.

Ng Yi Hao splashed to victory in the men’s 200m breaststroke in 2:19.02 ahead of Johor’s Wong Fu Kang, who finished in 2:20.47.

Jordan romped to gold in the men’s 400m individual medley in 4:33.09.

Kuala Lumpur’s Sebastian Soon settled for silver in 4:33.42 ahead of Johor’s Tia’a Faang Der, who finished in 4:35.28.


Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/swimming/2018/05/05/keith-on-track-to-break-record-in-his-pet-event/#WP6v5M8dhWocB0IL.99

The NST : Swimmer Keith Lim equals his personal best in Gold Coast

GOLD COAST: Malaysia’s Keith Lim equalled his personal best in the Commonwealth Games men's 50m freestyle swimming on Monday, but it was not enough to qualify for the semi-finals at the Optus Aquatic Centre.

Keith won heat five by clocking 23.33s. However, he only finished 22nd overall, 0.92 second short of qualifying for the top-16 semi-finals.

"I equalled my personal best today... satisfied with the time as I have not swum this fast since the Sea Games last year. I could have done better or worse, so I am not complaining," said Keith.

"However, I wasn't satisfied with my 100m freestyle performance on Sunday. I need to work on my speed to improve my time."

Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games - Men's 50m Freestyle - Heats - Optus Aquatic Centre - Gold Coast, Australia - April 9, 2018. Keith Lim Kit Sern (2nd R) of Malaysia prepares for the event alongside fellow competitors. — REUTERS pic

Compatriot Caroline Chan clocked 30.10s, 0.50 seconds off her national record set at the 2016 Asian Championships in Japan, in the women's 50m backstroke.

She finished 18th overall.

"I had hoped to break my national record here. I need to learn how to control my nerves and swim better," said Caroline.

Both Keith and Caroline will compete in next month's Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur which is a qualifier for the Indonesia Asian Games later this year.

The swimmers ended their campaigns commendably though they did not win medals.

Tern Jian Han and Welson Sim were the stars by reaching the finals of the 50m backstroke and 400m freestyle events.